Goddesses, Gods, and Wolves
by CastleGhost9095
Summary: This is the story of Seth, Leah, Brady, and Colin's imprints.    A walk on the beach. True love. Unexplainable powers.    Love isn't always easy, as the Pack's newest imprints will tell you
1. Chapter 1

"Ailios, don't forget to mind Maggie; you know the current is still too strong for her," my mom shouted.

"Yes, Mom. It's not like I'm going to let the wolves get her," I shouted back as I walked to First Beach, my younger sister Margaret in tow. My name is Ailios Siobhan Wynne, but I'll answer to Ali, if I must. I'm a hereditary witch, descended from Airmid, the Celtic Goddess of Healing, Medicine, and spring, who specializes in bringing back the dead. I have long reddish brown curls, and ivory skin with bright green eyes. Maggie is like a miniature me. I was fifteen, and Maggie was twelve. We just moved to La Push, with our mother and step-father, Garry Munroe. We gained two new siblings, who were like us, but they were descended from the Morrigan, the Goddess of War, Death, and strangely enough, Fertility. The two raven haired witches were nice. Rory was nine years older than me, and Portia was the same age as Maggie. Those two looked so alike it was creepy. Rory was trying to be rebellious or something and growing this patchy, scratchy beard that looked awful. Portia was a beautiful girl, very feminine, always having her nails done and such. Her maternal grandmother encouraged it, along with these god awful beauty pageant things. She acted like a Step-ford child around her Grandmother. That was why Garry was having her come live with us. All of us were descended of two Gods, so we had immortality, unless we were killed. We didn't die of old age or sickness.

I was tall and slim, curvy in all the right places. Maggie was petite, and too skinny. We made it to the beach and I set my beach bag down on the sand. The water looked nice, but was probably cold. I stripped down to my mint colored ruffled bikini, which showcased my long legs and flat stomach. Maggie had on an emerald one piece and shorts. We walked down to the water, and stuck our feet in. Damn was it cold.

The water glowed with small golden lights: life forms that I could sense. I felt more coming in from the right, and I glanced over to see seven massive men and a few young women, and a pair of little girls.

"Maggie, go back up to the bags," I whispered. She scrambled up to the bags, knowing full well that she needed to listen to me. I quickly recited a spell for protection and grabbed a hold of the charm I kept around my necklace. It was a special link to Airmid; as soon as a baby was born descended from her, a necklace appeared. The charm had a pentagram on it for protection. It looked common enough for it to be worn without raising eyebrows, which was important; as fewer of us were born nowadays; we have to be especially careful about exposure.

"Hey," one of the women called, waving. I waved back, cautiously, as I edged up towards Maggie.

"Seth, what are you doing?" the tallest woman hissed. One of the younger looking men had stopped in his tracks and had gotten left behind by the very good-looking crowd of people. Seth was most definitely the best looking man there. He didn't seem to be overly connected to the world.

"Holy Shit," one of the men shouted.

"Paul, the children," scolded the woman who was holding his hand, and rubbing a hand over her stomach. She appeared to be about six or seven months along and even from this distance I could see a gold band and sparkler.

"Can't you see? He's imprinted. And besides Rachel, honey, Nessie's heard worse over at the Cullen's, I'll bet, haven't you?" he asked.

One of the little girls – the only one there who didn't look like a Native American – replied, her bronze curls bouncing, "Not really. Mama gets really mad. Especially when Uncle Emmett says, 'motherf'", it was as far as she got before the tallest man placed his hand over her mouth.

"Don't say that, Renesmee Carlie Masen-Cullen. Claire shouldn't hear that word, and I'll be talking to your mother about Emmett."

"Jake, you don't have to. Auntie Rosie slapped him upside the head and told him to quit whining." She smiled winningly at Jake.

They probably didn't think Maggie or I could hear them. I wasn't watching where I was walking and I stepped on a piece of glass. "Ow," I said, hopping around like an idiot.

Seth ran forward, with the tallest woman holding onto his arm. "Let me go, Leah. Now!"

"Let Emily look at her first. You might make it worse," Leah shouted. "Unless you _want_ a nice young girl to go around footless, of course." Seth stopped to whip his head around to stare at the smallest woman, who appeared to be in her early twenties. She had long scars on one side of her face; they looked like an animal had dragged its paw against the side of her face. She probably would have died, had someone not taken immediate medical action.

Emily moved closer to me and said, "I'm Emily Uley. I'm a nurse. Let me take a look." She crouched besides me and looked at the bottom of my foot with sympathy. She had a pair of slim gold bands on her ring finger; one was decorated with a small but beautiful diamond and small sapphire stones. The other had delicate script on it that read, 'All My Love, Always Your Sam.

"It's really nothing," I said. My powers ran toward healing, which is why I could sense life. Emily had two lives in her body; one, of course, was hers, the other was her unborn child. She was newly pregnant, probably just conceived within the last week or so. "I'll be perfect by tomorrow."

Emily rolled her eyes and said, "Sam, can I have my backpack?" One of the men – presumably Sam – slid a backpack off his shoulders and placed it on the ground next to her.

She pulled out a bottle of water, and rinsed my foot off. She put a pair of rubber gloves on and got most of the fragments out of my foot. I winced when she pulled the largest shard out.

"Alright, that's the most I can do. Seth, take…what's your name?"

"Ailios."

"Seth, take Ailios over to the Cullen's house, so Carlisle can help her out."

"Grandpa?" Renesmee asked. "Jake, can we go with Seth and Ailios?"

"Of course, sweetie," Jake said, hoisting her into the air and spinning in a circle.

"What about Margaret?" I asked, my little sister coming to sit next to me.

"I'm Kimberly Wahalla," the other woman said. She appeared to be in her late teens or early twenties, maybe nineteen or twenty. "But please, call me Kim. She can either go with you, Seth, Jake, and Nessie to the Cullen's house or she could come with us to my house."

"I'll go with Ailios."

"Alright," Kim said, agreeably. "Well, stop by any time. I love having people over." She had a pair of rings on her finger too, that caught the sun's rays so it glowed. She was beautiful, seriously gorgeous. Wavy dark hair, perfect russet skin, straight white teeth, and big brown doe eyes, Kim Wahalla was a lovely young woman. Life seemed to pour from her, and the gold light associated with life shone even stronger from her abdomen. She was pregnant, probably didn't know it yet, either, maybe a month along.

Emily ordered, "Seth, pick her up and take her to Jake's car." All of a sudden, arms were picking me up as if I were less weight than a feather. Seth ran hotter than normal humans, but why? My powers were conducted by my hands, usually. If I wanted to know why he was running hot, I'd have to touch him. I felt a little uncomfortable; I was still in my bikini – a tiny one at that – and a half-naked man was carrying me around. He had abs of steel, and Goddess was he handsome.

He held me in one arm, and opened the door to Jake's car. Jake put Nessie in the car seat in the back seat, next to me. "Maggie, sit with me," I said. Maggie sat on me, while Jake and Seth climbed into the front seats.

I leaned forward, and put my hand on Seth's arm. "Umm, would you mind just dropping me off at home?" I asked. I let my powers flow and see what was up with Seth.

I felt a howl echo through my brain, and saw – like I was there, a third party observer – Seth turn from man to massive wolf. Oh my Goddess.

"No, we're taking you to see Dr. Cullen. Nessie's Grandpa."

"Well, he's not really my grandpa," she said, while taking a lollypop from Jake.

"That's enough squirt," Seth said.

"They have a complicated family dynamic," Jake added.

"Who is actually there?" Maggie asked.

"Well, Grandma and Grandpa, Mama, Daddy, Uncle Emmy, Uncle Jazz, Tante Alice, and Auntie Rosie." Tante? That was French, I knew, but Alice must be if she made her young niece call her that.

"Emmett and Rosalie are married, as are Bella and Edward – those are Nessie's parents – and Alice and Jasper. Bella married into the family and Emmett, Alice, and Edward are Carlisle and Esme's adoptive children. Rosalie and Jasper are twins and Esme's niece and nephew. Bella's Dad, Charlie, married my mom, Sue."

I took Maggie's hand and thought shared what I'd seen with Seth.

_No way! That is so cool! I don't think they're Children of the Moon, just shape shifters._

That was intriguing. I asked her why.

_They have mostly human characteristics, but only slight alterations in their genetic code. It's hereditary, and human is their base form. With Children of the Moon, wolf is the base form. Also, if they were Children of the Moon, it would be absolutely dangerous and we'd know._ It didn't surprise me that she knew so much, she was on the bookish side. She lived for this research, and she was a champ at the spells and things.

The car took a turn sharply and Maggie braced a hand on Nessie's booster, accidentally touching her hand. Maggie gleaned some odd details. Nessie was a vampire, or half vampire, rather. And in Nessie's mind, Jake became a wolf too. This town had some weird stuff. Shape shifters, vampires, and half vampires. Wait a second. I was going to Nessie's grandfather, a vampire, for medical attention. Was I insane?

_Maggie, on the count of three, I'm going to say I don't feel good and get them to stop the car. You're going to get out of the car and run for our house. Get Mom, Garry, and Rory and Portia if they're there. Tell them to get the circles going and I'll be back as soon as I can. I'll be right behind you, if I can manage it._

_No. I'm not leaving you behind to go to a coven of vampires._

_1. 2. 3_. "Stop the car. I…I don't feel," I slapped a hand over my mouth. Jake screeched to a stop and unlocked the car. Maggie jumped off of me, and raced away. I jumped out and followed as fast as I could. I was chanting up a storm.

The boys seemed to realize what was happening and Seth bounded out. He ran swiftly after us, like he was a hunting wolf and now I was pretty freaked out. I ran a light current over my skin; it was sort of like a static shock you'd get from another person after they walked across carpet in socks. Not enough to really hurt someone, but enough to make them back off.

He touched my arm, and kept his hand there, though the voltage running through him had to hurt. I ceased the current, and the pain lines around his eyes disappeared.

"What the hell?" He muttered.

I knew it was time to lay my cards on the table, "Why is there so much supernatural activity here?"

Seth's eyes widened. "What? I don't know what you're," he began.

"Don't play dumb with me. Maggie, get back here. I know that you're a shifter, and that Jake is too. Your chosen form is wolf, too. Nessie is a half vamp."

"How do you know that?"

"I'm a hereditary witch, descended from the Airmid. Celtic Goddess of healing, medicine, and spring. Maggie is a witch too. My whole family is. Except my step dad, and step brother and sister are descended from the Morrigan, instead."

He looked at me funny.

"War Goddess. Their powers run more towards fighting, destruction, while Maggie, my mom, and mine, are the opposite. We have healer's skills. But descendents of the Morrigan are fertility deities, but only minor ones."

"Cool."

"So, how does the whole shifter thing work? Maggie thinks that you're not Children of the Moon, because your base form is human, not wolf."

"How did you even know? I couldn't tell that you're a witch."

"Part of the Goddess's protection. Even though we are Goddesses, and immortal barring an unfortunate accident or purposeful murder or suicide, I'll still be alive and kicking for forever. Same deal with the shifters right, you won't age as long as you shift?"

"Yeah."

Maggie finally made her way over to me, huffing and puffing. "What the hell, Ailios? Why did you tell me to run, if you're going to go half assed, and stop?"

"When did you tell her to run?"

"Car," we said together, as I leaned down to look her in the eye.

"I thought it was necessary, and I'd rather something happen to me, than to you."

"But, Ailios, you're supposed to be the next High Pr," she began, before I put a hand over her mouth.

"Shhh," I hissed at her.

"Next High what?" Seth asked suspiciously.

I sighed, "Next High Priestess of the Airmid. It rotates, my cousin Laurel is it now, until I am thirty. When I turn thirty, I go back to Ireland," Seth let out a sound that was sort of a whimper, "and for ten years, I am the Priestess. Then, it rotates to Maggie, and so on."

Jake got out of the car, and shouted, "Get back in the car. I have to get Nessie home in thirty minutes, or I can't take her out again for a month. I'd only have supervised visits with Blondie."

"That's Rosalie, to you. She and Jake can't stand each other. Nessie's mom, Bella, is my step-sister. Her husband, Edward, is a pretty cool guy." His face lit in hope. "Hey, how much do you two know about shifters? The women ones?"

"Why, do you guys have a girl in the pack?" Maggie asked eagerly.

"Yeah, my sister, Leah."

"I know it happens, quite commonly actually, back home."

"Is there anyway for her to not be a werewolf? She hates it."

"Well, most shifting is caused by extreme emotion, usually anger. She could learn to control it, and not shift. Or, and I'm not totally clear on this, I'd have to ask Rory. If the imprint is strong enough, his body I mean, to be able to handle the change, and wasn't predisposed to change himself, _he_ could switch with her. Take the wolf aspect onto him. I'm not totally sure about it, like I said; I'd have to ask Rory."

"Who is that?" Seth asked.

"Our step-brother, descended from the Morrigan. Our step-sister is Portia. She's this scary step-ford child around her grandmother. It's why she's coming to live with us. Garry Munroe, our step-dad, has this bookshop he's opening around here. Rory is going to work there for a while, and sleep above the shop. I'm going to work there, after school, unless I get involved with something else."

"Is he looking for more workers?" Jake asked, just as Seth opened his mouth.

"Yeah. Some grown-people who can work during the school day, besides him, Mom, and Rory."

"My sister, Rachel, is a writer. R.E.B. Hunter. She writes those mystery novels."

"I know, I've read them. Your sister writes them? That's so cool. So R.E.B. stands for?"

"Rachel Elizabeth Black and Hunter is her married name," Seth answered.

"Right, well Rachel was looking for a little place to work at part time, while Paul is at work or running day patrol. So is Leah, when she's off patrol."

"Yeah, of course. Tell them to drop off an application, and I'll make sure Mom and Garry look at it. Any of the pack or wives needs a job; tell them to drop off a resume. We need people, and the boxes the books come in? Those suckers are heavy."

"Of course," Seth said. "Let's get you back to the car, so Carlisle can take a look at your foot."

"No need. Now that the cat is out of the bag, I'll just go home and have Mom look at it. Oh, by the way, tell Rachel, Emily, and Kim to stop by anytime if they need help at all with their pregnancies; the pack, too, if they get hurt. Leah should stop by tomorrow to talk to Maggie and Rory. I might even be able to help locate her imprint. Crystal gaze, or scry, even, if I'm open to enough energy."

"Kim and Emily? They aren't pregnant."

"Isn't he being too funny?" Maggie said, of Jake's statement.

"You seriously doubt the Witches with healing and life magic? I could see the gold light from their abdomens. They probably don't even know it yet. So don't say anything, just tell them to drop by and visit me."

"Back to the thing you said about the car? Telling her to run?"

"My hands are the conduits of my power. That's why I touched you early on in the car. I needed to know why you were running so warm. I couldn't see a reason for it, you're extraordinarily healthy. I saw through your mind that you are a werewolf."

"How?"

"We can read minds sometimes, if a guard isn't up. To heal mental illness. Not that you have any, except for an awful headache, but that can be fixed right promptly." I took his hand and applied pressure to the nerve between his thumb and index finger.

"Now, I must get home. I'll see you tomorrow," I smiled. "Maggie?"

She recited a moving spell, gripping my hand. We vanished and poofed back into existence in our house.


	2. Chapter 2

"MOM!" I shouted. She came running up the stairs, her hands out to wards off an attack.

"What? What happened?"

"Well, we met a shifter pack, a half vamp, and a few imprints. Rory will be fascinated. Is he here yet?" I slid on a pair of shorts; not the ones I'd worn this morning, those were with Seth and Jacob.

"Yes, he and Portia are unpacking. Why are you bleeding?"

"Stepped on some glass at the beach."

"Why did you spell back in? You have to be more discreet," she lectured.

"Mom, the guy we spelled in front of is a shape shifter, a wolf. He's honor bound to keep our secret, just as we are honor bound to keep his and his pack's. His sister is a shifter, too."

"What was that?" Rory asked. At twenty-four, he was very handsome, and very likely to stay that way. He'd shaved – thank the goddess. His dark hair was curly, and he always looked like he had just rolled out of bed. He had strange blue eyes that looked an almost lavender color. Portia had them too; they got them from their mother. Their mother was from New York; a place called Rochester.

"You are going to love it here. We found out a pack of wolf shifters live here, and some vampires. Three pregnant imprints will be coming by tomorrow, I hope. And the pack has a girl shifter, Rory," Maggie said, excitedly.

"Really? You're not kidding me?"

"No fooling. She should be dropping by tomorrow, along with three pregnant pack imprints for me, Mom, and Maggie to check on. It'll be a great day, very informative for all of us."

"I bet you Seth will drop by too," Maggie said, forgetting in her excitement that she was bound in secrecy by sisterhood first.

Rory looked at her suspiciously, "Seth? He isn't a shifter by chance, is he?"

"Yeah, he is. Why?"

"Did he imprint on you?" He asked, piqued.

"NO!" I shouted. "Of course not. I would know. I would feel that elusive pull. I know what imprinting is like, remember? I felt it in the mind of Seamus and Nola. They had a bond unlike any."

"But what if he didn't know it yet?"

"Imprinting is instantaneous. It is either meant to be or not. They are together for a reason." The doorbell rang, and as my foot was all healed up, the four of us trudged down the stairs to see Portia answer the door. A tall boy that was undoubtedly Quileute towered over petite Portia. His eyes feasted on her in a way that made me want to tell him to find some other little girl to ogle. Apparently, Rory noticed it too.

"Oi! That's my little sister there! You follow?"

This seemed to snap the poor kid out of his trance. Heat flamed in his cheeks. "I'm sorry. My name is Colin Wahalla. Seth asked me to drop off your belongings." He held up the towels and beach bag. I leaned forward to take them from him.

"Thank you, Colin. Would you like something to eat? From what I recall," I glanced at Maggie for confirmation, "shifters are always starving."

"Um, no thank you. Emily is making a big dinner. Which reminds me, I'm supposed to invite your family to come to the bonfire tonight."

I touched my Mom's shoulder, _I think we should go. They will be our neighbors, and if I'm reading the signs correctly, young Colin imprinted on Portia._

"We'd be delighted to attend your gathering. When and where is it?"

"Seth said that if you agreed, to tell you he'd come by with Leah – that's his sister – and Sue and Charlie at about eight thirty. Sue is their mom, and Charlie is their step-dad. He's Nessie's grandpa. You met Nessie, right?" The poor kid was rambling.

"Colin, what the hell is taking so," another boy about Colin's height and age appeared in the doorway. He took a look around the room, before his gaze settled on Maggie. His eyes unfocused and then he seemed absolutely entranced by her. Well hell. This seemed to be an epidemic. First, Portia, and then Maggie.

The new boy said, "Hi. I'm Brady Greene; I think you met my sister Kim at the beach. She would have introduced herself as," he began.

"Kim Wahalla."

"Right, she's married to Colin's cousin, Jared."

"I'm Ailios Wynne, my big brother Rory Munroe, Siobhan Wynne Munroe, my mother, and my little sisters, Margaret Wynne, and Portia Munroe. My dad, Garry Munroe, is…Where is Garry?"

"Bookshop; he's putting in some stock," Mom offered.

"Brady, we've got to go and help Emily, Rachel, and Kim. Sam, Paul, and Jared said to drop off the stuff for Seth, and then hurry back. It was an order." There was urgency in Colin's tone. He leaned closer and whispered into Brady's ear. A whispered argument ensued; I could only catch every third word and it wasn't even in a language I recognized. Probably the Quileute language.

"Sorry. We have to go. See you at the bonfire, Portia," Colin said, tugging Brady out the door.

"Bye, Margaret," Brady called. I felt a ripple in the air, and knew that Brady and Colin had shifted into their wolf selves.

I curled up on the chair, "So what do we think of the imprints of our girls?"

Portia gave a startled, "What?" Her eyes went wide, and made her look more like a life size porcelain doll, than a twelve year old.

"They're shifters, sweetie," I said, making space for her to sit next to me. "I think that Colin Wahalla imprinted on you," I said, kissing her hair.

"Imprint?" I'd forgotten she was pretty much raised by her mortal old hag of a grandmother. She was mostly ignorant of our history, magic, and other races of magic.

"It's like love at first sight. It happens among the shifters. It is very powerful; he is absolutely devoted."

"Ailios, I'm twelve. I'm not supposed to fall in love until I'm twenty-four. Grandmamma said so."

I refrained from giving my opinion of her grandmamma, and smiled. "Sweetie, I don't think that's it's a romantic love at first. I think it'll be more of a friendship-love, or a most trusted confidante. I mean, Rory, you are the expert here; what do you think?"

"It better not be romantic love at first for my twelve year old sisters!" he exploded. "Goddamn imprinting!" The veins in his neck were straining and if we didn't calm him down, his war god would start showing.

"Rory, the boys are young. About thirteen, if I'm not off my guess. You cannot kill the poor children for having crushes on our sisters."

"You know damn well they're not crushes!" he hissed furiously.

"But it's young love! What is better than to be young and in love? I wish I was," I admitted honestly.

"Sap."

"Romantic," I corrected.

"You are going to be the nice sister who helps facilitate their little love affairs, and when they end up fifteen and pregnant, their hopes and dreams ruined, they'll know who to thank."

"Melodramatic much? Goddess above, Rory, you need a chill pill. You do realize you are a minor fertility deity, right?"

"Right! I'll put the whammy on those boys."

"No. Stupid. Just a little less hormones for those four and everything will be mellow."

"For you as well," he muttered.

"Are you saying I'm hormonal? ARE YOU?"

"Yes, I am."

At that moment, the door opened and Garry's shuffling footsteps were heard. "Wonderful family of mine, I'm home!"

"Well this wonderful family member of yours is leaving," I shouted stomping out, pausing to kiss his cheek, before swinging open the door and then slamming it in my wake. I ruined my own dramatic exit.

I strode into the forest, hoping my magic – with its connection to life – would help soothe me. It wasn't really working, but I sat down on a dry log, surrounded by the lush beauty of the woods. My senses were in overdrive; I could smell everything, see everything, and hear everything for miles. I closed my eyes, and tipped my head back. I pulled the hair elastic out of my hair and ran a hand through it. I yawned, and smiled. The fading sun beat through just enough to warm my skin.

I lost track of how long I sat there, in the silence of the wood. I think I might have dozed off a little. The sun was low in the sky, so I walked back to the house.

"Ailios, is that you?" Mom called.

"Yeah! I'm going to make something for the bonfire." I went into the kitchen and looked at what we had. I pulled a few boxes of cake mix out and got started. I figured if I made a lot, there should be plenty for everybody. Finally I had the three layers of the cake in the oven. I decided to take a shower and change.

I went up the stairs two at a time. I flung open my closet doors. What to wear, what to wear, what to wear? "Portia! Come here. I need your help." Yes, I know it is a sad day when a fifteen year old needs their twelve year old sister's help to find an outfit.

"I know exactly what you should wear. You'll look so good. Okay. Gray skinny jeans, black camisole, dark purple sweater, lavender necklace and earrings, and the black ballet flats that you have, with the black leather belt."

"Great. Could you tell Mom to take the cakes out of the oven when the timer goes off? Just tell her to leave them there to cool." I shooed her out, walked into my bathroom, and turned the shower on.

Thirty minutes later, I was blow drying my hair. I ran a brush through it hurriedly, before putting on makeup. I dressed in the clothes Portia had selected, and tied a dark purple ribbon in my hair as a headband. I put a slim tube of lip gloss in my pocket along with my cell phone. I kept my charm necklace on, and tugged on the sweater to make it fit a bit better. I strolled down the stairs to see my family waiting in the front hall. The girls had followed the colors I was wearing. Maggie had on a light gray and purple dress, with black flats and a light cardigan. Portia had black skinny jeans on, heels, a gray shirt, with a purple cardigan, that was belted around the middle. A handful of bobby pins held her hair up. She was definitely going to be a high maintenance girlfriend. Poor Colin. Rory had jeans, and a black t-shirt on. Garry was dressed the same way. Even though he looked to be about fifty, he still maintained a lean athletic build, and his dark hair was threaded lightly with gray, but otherwise, Garry was totally badass, with his dark aviators, and black leather jacket. The guy rode a motorcycle for Goddess' sake. Garry was actually somewhere around three hundred. Mom had on black flats, a flowing purple knee length dress, and a cropped black jacket. Her face was still fairly youthful, with only a few crow's feet that had appeared in the last few years. Mom was one hundred and twelve. Like I said, we were immortal, and we could change our appearance, subtly, and carefully. We could wind forward the clocks, and reverse them. Part of learning to use your powers was learning how to change your appearance. I'd seen how I looked at fifty, as a brunette, a blonde; I had to say, I much preferred my natural looks.

I went back into the kitchen and assembled the cake, icing it so it looked professionally done. I added a few roses for show, and some simple piping. It looked nice. I put it in a box so it would be protected from the wind and from being accidentally squashed.

At eight twenty, a knock came on the door. I answered the door to see an older gentleman, in his fifties, that was most definitely not Quileute. His pale face was lightly lined with the marks of a sometimes hard life; his mustache was on the bushy and slightly unkempt side. His dark brown hair was on the longish side, graying at the temples. He had brown eyes that had laugh wrinkles. His arm was around a middle aged woman that had Seth's eyes. She was on the petite side, but still very lovely. Sue's eyes made it very obvious to me where her son got those gorgeous eyes. Handsome Seth stood behind her; his light brown eyes watching me.

"Please, come in," I smiled brilliantly. The three moved in.

"I'm Seth Clearwater," he said, introducing himself to my parents, Portia, and Rory. "You've got a great house, here. This is my mom, Sue, and my new dad, Chief Charlie Swan. He's Nessie's grandpa."

"They met Nessie already?" he asked his wife softly.

"This afternoon at the beach. She's adorable," I said. "Oh gosh, I don't know where my manners went. I'm Ailios Wynne. This is my brother, Rory Munroe, my sister Portia Munroe, my sister, Margaret Wynne, my Mom, Siobhan Wynne-Munroe, and my dad Gareth Munroe."

"Garry, please," Dad said. "Chief of what, Charlie?"

"The Fork's police."

We separated, the people younger than Rory going into the TV room, and the adults going into a sitting room that was done in earthy tones.

"I thought Leah was going to come too?"

"She's running a little late. She'll make it to the bonfire though. So Colin and Brady dropped off your things, right?"

"Yes, it was very thoughtful of you," I said, at the same time Rory interrupted.

"But didn't you hear?"

"Hear what?" Seth said.

"Colin and Brady imprinted."

"On who?" his voice deepened slightly, while the look he gave me I'd term as possessive. Maybe he had.

"Portia and Maggie."

"Ahh. Well, girls, in that case, I'm very happy for you."

"But they're so young," Rory griped.

"Ailios, Maggie, do you remember the other little girl on the beach, besides Nessie? Her name is Claire. She isn't one of the pack's kids. She's Quil Ateara's imprint. He imprinted when she was two years old. She's Emily's niece, and my first cousin once removed. Claire's Mom, Serenity, and Emily are my mom's sister's kids. Claire's mom is anything but serene, though, I have to warn you. I'm not sure if Claire's parents are coming, but don't be very outspoken about anything around her and Jim – that's her husband."

"Thanks for the heads up. We should probably get going. I'll get the cake," I said, moving in the direction of the cake.

"No, I'll carry it for you." Seth volunteered. That's a little weird.

I handed him the box and said, "Be careful. It's three layers, so be cautious. I don't want it to topple."

"Yes ma'm."

"Ailios is just fine. What year are you?"

"What?"

"I forget, you say grade here."

"Oh, I'm a Sophomore , or I will be when school starts up, anyways. I turned sixteen a few weeks ago."

"I will be a Sophomore as well, but my birthday isn't for a few more months."

"Maybe you'll be in some of my classes."

"Maybe."

He followed me out the door, after I grabbed my jacket and purse. "I brought my car, too," he said, "so that way nobody will have somebody else's knee in their face."

"Thoughtful of you." He beamed at me. "How many fit in your car?"

"Five. Nessie's family gave it to me for my birthday. Edward's a good guy and since Bella's my sister, they decided to get me car."

The black BMW M3 was a beauty. I went around to the left side to get in, and was confronted by a steering wheel. Damn. I forgot that in America the steering wheel is on the left side of the car. I smacked my forehead and stalked back around to the right side. I opened the door and Portia, Maggie, and I climbed in. The cake box was settled on my lap, and Rory took the passenger seat. The adults settled into Charlie and Sue's sensible four door sedan.

"So," I asked. "Does your family know about the whole descended from goddesses and that we're witches thing?"

"I didn't get a chance to tell Mom, and Charlie likes to know as little as possible. Leah knows and so do the rest of the guys due to the pack mind."

"Interconnectivity to work together," Maggie said.

Seth glanced into the rear view mirror. "It's a little scary; I think you guys know more about shifting than we do."

"No, we don't. You actually shift. We're more like people who really love food, but couldn't make it."

He turned onto a small road and parked with a collection of five other cars. He climbed out and opened my door. That's sweet of him.

"Who is here," I asked, getting out.

"The little red car is Leah's, the black SUV is Rachel and Paul, the Jeep is Emmett Cullen's, for all the stuff the Cullen's bring. The fourth car is Sam and Emily, they brought Serenity, Jim, and Claire, and the fifth car is Kim and Jared's. They got Quil, Brady, and Colin. Embry is on patrol with the Cullen's, Emmett and Rosalie. Embry's running it because he volunteered not wanting to drag anybody else away from their imprint, and Leah wanted to ask you some questions about what you said earlier. They'll be back shortly, and Leah, Edward, and I will run the patrol."

"Patrol?" Maggie asked.

"Just a precaution and to make sure the Volturi aren't loitering. They were here a while ago. To split the Cullen's up."

"The Vampire Royalty; they lust for powers. I've met them," Rory announced, pulling Portia from the car.

Seth and I turned to look at him. "When?"

"When I turned eighteen, I took a trip all around Europe with a buddy. We stopped in Volterra, Italy. Just to monitor the situation for a report. My buddy got bitten and drained. He died three weeks after his eighteenth birthday. The only reason I survived is because I'm a descendent of the Morrigan." He clammed up on the subject.

Seth called, "Leah! Come here, you have to carry some stuff."

She rose from the ground where she was seated, playing with Claire and Nessie. She'd been talking to Jake and a beautiful brunette. "Who's she?" I asked.

"The brunette? That's my sister, Bella."

"Seth, what do you want me to take?" Leah asked, running a hand through her shoulder length hair. She had on a tank top, and shorts. My powers picked up a sadness that ran through her.

Seth passed her a box from the trunk. "Leah, this is Ailios, her sisters Portia and Margaret, and her brother Rory."

"It's nice to meet you." She balanced the box in one arm and extended one to shake.

Leah was a lovely girl. She had pansy-brown eyes that were almond shaped. She was tall, slim, and muscular. She seemed to be in her early twenties. Her face was perfectly formed, and her voice was soft, tempered with a slightly bitter edge.

"Hi," my normally eloquent brother stuttered. She seemed similarly affected when she looked at him. Holy Crap! She imprinted on my brother.

I looked at Seth, and he was beaming.

"Hi," she said softly.

"Let me take that," Rory said. She passed it to him wordlessly.

They walked off together, in their own little world. I wanted to squeal from excitement. I smiled and clapped my hands together.

"This is amazing. That's the whole pack, except for you and Embry, right?"

"Something like that."


End file.
